ANHA, QAMISHLO ─ Internationalist combatants fighting in the ranks of YPG/YPJ (People’s/Women’s Defense Units) have released a statement saluting the self-rule resistance in Bakur (North) Kurdistan. Revolutionaries called upon the youths to join the resistance alongside the YPS (Civil Defense Units) and guerrilla forces.

The press conference by internationalist combatants was held at the border between Qamislo city of Rojava and Nusaybin town of Bakur Kurdistan. The statement in Kurdish, Spanish, German and English also called upon youths worldwide to support the Kurdistan revolution.

The press release by revolutionaries from Germany, France and Spain is as follows;

“We are revolutionaries from all over the world who have come to Kurdistan out of their own free will to join the struggle for liberation.

We are living in a time of constant emergency. While at the heart of the Leviathan the enemy continues to numb, stupefy and enslave the people in the most thorough and wicked way, the fringes are lost in war. Today the oppression of 500 years of capitalism lives on in countless forms.

The rulers know no limits when it comes to securing their wealth and pursuing their interests. If we look at all the news of a single day it is easy to simply drown in despair. And that is exactly the point. We are to believe that there is no alternative, that the system we live in is the only option. When the soviet union collapsed it was said that we are at “the end of history”. But now, 25 years later, we see once more that capitalism isn’t and never has been able to solve our problems. On the contrary, every so-called solution has only multiplied the existing problems.

The system thrives on oppression. The oppressors need us. They cannot exist without us, but we can without them. Slavery, war and sorrow, loneliness and despair are neither fate nor coincidence, they are inevitable characteristics of a capitalist society. It is therefore our most urgent duty to organize against it. As much as they try to overwhelm our conscience and plant their truth in our hearts – we will not be deceived any longer. The alternative exists, right in front of our eyes.

For more than 40 years the resistance of the PKK against the occupiers, most notably the Turkish state, has never faltered. The PKK fight for freedom and autonomy, not just for Kurds but for all peoples of the Middle East. 4 years ago the fire caught in the western part of Kurdistan called Rojava, which was then liberated from the Syrian occupation. Rojava’s people self-organized, leading to a full-scale social revolution. Everywhere they founded councils and communes for local administration, and cooperatives as basis for a new economy. The historical resistance that was put up to defend the revolution, the fight of the guerilla; liberation of women, radical democracy and ecology as foundation of an alternative society – these are our hopes in the 21st century. We draw courage and belief from the revolution in Kurdistan.

The situation right now is very critical. The war in Northern Kurdistan, the part occupied by Turkey, has been raging for half a year. The attack on the guerrilla-controlled territories by theTurkish occupation forces on 24th of July was answered by the people by declarations of Democratic Autonomy in many areas in Northern Kurdistan. They built up communes and local councils, just like in Rojava. Led by the YDGH and YDGK youth and young women’s movement the people organized their self-defense and erected barricades in their neighborhoods. The Turkish state saw this as a threat to its authority that had for the last years merely existed symbolically in the Kurdish regions and attacked with uninhibited brutality.

For months now the people, most notably the revolutionary youth, have been resisting against the second-biggest army of NATO. Heavy fighting continues in the cities of Cizîre, Silopya, Nisêbîn, Kerboran, Şirnex, Gever and the Sûr and Farqîn neighborhoods of Amed.

During the winter months the snow limits very much the movement of the guerrilla. This is why the enemy does everything in his power to break the will of the people before spring. In the 90ies the state burned down thousands of villages to separate the population from the guerrilla and force the people to become refugees. Today they attempt the very same, attacking civilians with tanks, helicopters and heavy artillery.

Everyday there is news of children, youths and whole families massacred by state forces. The state has send thousands of its best troops and heavy weaponry into the Kurdish regions to quell the revolutionary insurrection. The occupation forces have decreed curfews in all Kurdish cities, cut off water and electricity and keep spreading anti-Kurdish propaganda while heavily censoring all Turkish media outlets. But despite all this the people have stood up to all intimidation attempts and fight everyday with unwavering courage and conviction in the streets of north Kurdistan. Recently the civil defense units YPS, modeled after the Rojavan YPG, have been built up to support this resistance.

We congratulate the creation of the YPS and send our warmest greetings and respect to the YDGH. Many of our comrades have fallen in this struggle. Their memory gives us strength and their sacrifice will not have been in vain. We will carry on the flame of revolution with all our heart and mind. Our place is here, side by side with our comrades, fighting for a free Kurdistan and Middle East.

We call on all revolutionaries worldwide – join the resistance. This is not the time to sit at home and ponder what might be. We are building and defending the future now. We call for resistance and solidarity. Rise against the imperialist forces. Attack the institutions of the Turkish state all over the world. Come to Kurdistan and join the forces of YPJ, YPS and the guerrilla!”